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Statues of Buddha such as this one located in Khao
Takiup village near Hua Hin, Thailand remind followers to practice right
living. Buddhism
is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhirtha
Gautama, who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE.

Originating
in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Sri Lanka,
Tibet, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia,
Korea, and Japan.

Buddhism
teaches followers to perform good and wholesome actions, to avoid bad and
harmful actions, and to purify and train the mind. The aim of these practices
is to end the suffering of cyclic existence, samsara, by awakening the practitioner
to the realization of true reality, the achievement of Nirvana and Buddhahood.

While
Buddhism does not deny the existence of supernatural beings (indeed, many
are discussed in Buddhist scripture), it does not ascribe power for creation,
salvation or judgement to them. Like humans, they are regarded as having the
power to affect worldly events, and so some Buddhist schools associate with
them via ritual.

The
three main branches of Buddhism

Buddhism
has evolved into myriad schools that can be roughly grouped into three types:
Nikaya (also called Hinayana), Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Of the Nikaya schools,
only the Theravada survives. Each branch sees itself as representing the true,
original teachings of the Buddha, and some schools believe that the dialectic
nature of Buddhism allows its format, terminology, and techniques to adapt
over time in response to changing circumstances, thus validating dharmic approaches
different from their own.

The
Theravada school, whose name means "Doctrine of the Elders",
bases its practice and doctrine exclusively on the Pali Canon, which is a
collection of what are known as agamas or nikaya sutras. The nikaya sutras
are generally considered by modern scholars to be the oldest of the surviving
types of Buddhist literature, and they are accepted as authentic in every
branch of Buddhism. Theravada is the only surviving representative of the
historical Nikaya branch. Nikaya Buddhism and consequently Theravada are sometimes
referred to as Hinayana or "lesser vehicle", although this is considered
by some to be impolite. Native Theravada is practiced today in Sri Lanka,
Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and portions of Vietnam and Malaysia.

The
Mahayana (literally "Great Vehicle") branch emphasizes universal
compassion and the selfless ideal of the bodhisattva, whose goal is to achieve
Buddhahood in order to be of greatest benefit to other sentient beings. In
addition to the Nikaya scriptures, Mah?y?na schools recognize all or part
of a genre of scriptures that were first put in writing around 1 CE. These
scriptures were written in some form of Sanskrit, except a few manuscripts
in Prakrit, and are concerned with the purpose of achieving Buddhahood by
following the path of the bodhisattva over the course of what is often described
as countless eons of time. Because of this immense timeframe, some Mah?y?na
schools accept the idea of working towards rebirth in a Pure Land. The Pure
Land is normally conceived of as a state which is not enlightenment in itself
but which is a highly conducive environment for working toward enlightenment,
although some sources indicate that it is synonymous with enlightenment. Native
Mah?y?na Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan, Korea, and most of Vietnam.

The
Vajrayana or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayana,
Tantrayana, Tantric or esoteric Buddhism) shares the basic concepts of Mahayana,
but also includes a vast array of spiritual techniques designed to enhance
Buddhist practice. One component of the Vajrayana is harnessing psycho-physical
energy as a means of developing profoundly powerful states of concentration
and awareness. These profound states are in turn to be used as an efficient
path to Buddhahood. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner
can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or even as little as three years.
In addition to the Theravada and Mahayana scriptures, Vajrayana Buddhists
recognise a large body of texts that include the Buddhist Tantras.

Native
Vajrayana is practiced today mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Kalmykia,
areas of India, and -- among the Shingon (Zhenyan), and Tendai schools in
China and Japan.

At
the present time the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread
throughout the world and are now easily available in the developed countries,
and increasingly translated into local languages.

The
Five Precepts

The Buddha statue Aukana, in Sri Lanka Buddhists undertake certain precepts
as aids on the path to coming into contact with ultimate reality. Laypeople
generally undertake five precepts. The Five Precepts are not given in the
form of commands such as "thou shalt not ...", but rather are promises
to oneself: "I will (try) to...".

It should be noted that the literal, and possibly original, meaning of the
third precept covers more than the now generally standard meaning "sexual
misconduct" and actually involves refraining from "wrong indulgence
in all sensory pleasures".

In
some schools of Buddhism, serious lay people or aspiring monks take an additional
three to five ethical precepts, and some of the five precepts are strengthened.
For example, the precept pertaining to sexual misconduct becomes a precept
of celibacy; the fourth precept, which pertains to incorrect speech, is expanded
to four: lying, harsh language, slander, and idle chit-chat. Fully ordained
monks and nuns of the Theravada school also vow to follow the 227 patimokkha
rules. Fully ordained Mahayana monks and nuns follow 348 equivalent rules
with an additional set of, generally, 41 bodhisattva vows.